It’s 3 weeks since we launched our Kickstarter Campaign at The Common Press, to produce our upcoming photobook. The launch event was lovely, we shared more images from the project, adding to the installation we put up 18 months ago, set up a series of talking pictures in the children’s snug for people to listen to on headphones (more on these early experiments with audio soon) and I did a talk about the project, accompanied on the sofa by participants Sabah Choudrey and Jen Smethurst for an informal conversation and qu and a with the audience.
I tried to share this video of the installation on Instagram and they removed it within seconds accusing me of sexualised content and nudity! Not the first post to be removed which has made me feel horrible like I’m doing something bad and more to the point is a worrying indication of the current climate of hostility towards and censorship of gender non-conforming bodies.
This is another image which was removed from Instagram, it took them a week or so before deciding this was too explicit however.
To me this is a really playful pairing of images and in the book they will be placed on consecutive pages, folding over from one page to the next - push / pull, out / in, soft / hard. The first image was innocently made in-between shots when the participant, Azara was warming their hands in their pants, I’ve always seen it as playful and quite sweet. The second image shows Chiyo binding to flatten their chest, ok it is one of the harsher images in the book, which will be layered with various aspects of trans experience, but I think Instagram is reading it as bondage which it is not at all!!
Doing a Kickstarter Campaign has its ups and downs and to be honest after having such an easy ride with my first one for the David Hoyle book back in 2017 which reached it’s target in 2 weeks, I wasn’t prepared for how exposing I would find this one. However despite it being slow and not having a clue if we will reach our target, overall I am still finding it to be a positive and useful thing to do.
I chose to use Kickstarter to raise awareness of the project and find out if there’s actually an appetite for this photobook and therefore raise funds towards the costs of the design, printing and binding. The great thing about this platform is that it’s a pre-sale for the book and you can be creative with offering all sorts of other ‘rewards’ so backers will get something in return. I’m not asking people to donate to my personal practice, I’m hopefully offering them something they want!
3 different print rewards - part of the special edition of the photobook which will be signed by me and the participants with hand finished details and comes with a copy of our zine from 2020, a postcard and other bits.
Something I’m really enjoying about the campaign is seeing what participants are choosing to show when they post about it online and reading the lovely things they are saying about the project and about working with me - without their enthusiasm, investment and commitment we’d never have made it this far!
We’ve had such a lot of love online and beyond from supporters of the project and our community which is really affirming and encouraging - fingers crossed this translates into backers and we can make the book we dream of!
“There is a real buzz about this book. We need it!!” Kate O'Donnell – Trans Creative
“Dunno about you but I am enjoying the gender revolution. Trans guys everywhere. Bring. It. On. They are changing the world with this new wave of masculinity. Move over Jordan Peterson, these boys are showing what non-toxic masculinity can look like - stoicism, strength and selflessness meets sex, style and subversion. This incredible epoch in queer culture in the London village is being captured by court photographer Holly Revell. Do as I do, and pre-order a copy on the link below. They have 28 days left to on this Kickstarter. Be part of queer history and invest in da best.” Duckie
“Extremely talented superstar photographer Holly Revell has spent the last six years working with a wonderful group of trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming humans to help them document and make visible their identities, experiences and joy. They're now ready to publish their book, I've a number of Holly's previous works and take it from me, it's going to be beautiful!” James Cronin
“If you can, please do support Holly Revell with her kickstarter for People Like Us. So many amazing people, who I have had the privilege of working with through Trans Creative, are featured in the photobook, alongside those I admire from outside of my TC connection. Let’s get this book made!” Emma Ferrier
“Just putting out another call for those interested in positive news and portrayals of trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people. We need these images! Please consider backing the incredible Holly Revell as she launches the kickstarter for her second book.” Catriona Fin
“Teach me how to be a Man. My Dad didn't have the time. My older brother Steve was busy with his own struggles. The boys on the estate and the blokes down the pub were scary, prone to violence and half of them are dead now. Teach me how to be a man, Trans Guy, re-invent these damaged goods and Teach me how to be a man.This post is an ADVERT for a new book. Give Holly Revell a few bob so they can publish their book, order it before it's published and support the pulse of this underground revolution. They are called Trans Guys. Some of them are called 'non binary people'. They are like punks or teds or mods or gays. They are a cultural movement, they are my mates and they are changing the world.” Simon Casson
Kickstarter have also been supportive and quickly selected us as a “Project We Love”, which is “their way of highlighting brilliant examples of creativity”.
"It's an honor to have this project on our platform that highlights these underrepresented communities, and for them to get this visibility is essential." Danny Baez - Kickstarter's Head of Arts
Back the book here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hollyrevell/people-like-us
THANKS so much! Holly / People Like Us
